Gannet birds fly from Australia to nest at these rocks in Muriwai. From August to March each year you can watch the comings and goings of a busy gannet colony. It's hugely entertaining.

Each pair lays one egg and the parents take turns on the nest. The
chicks hatch naked, but within a week they're covered with fluffy down.
As they mature, they grow juvenile feathers and begin to exercise their
wings in preparation for the one-shot jump off the cliff.

Once airborne, the young gannets leave the colony and cross the Tasman
Sea to Australia. A few years later, surviving birds return to secure a
nest site at the colony.